Begotten was brought into this world in the 1980s by writer and director E. Elias Merhige. The degraded black and white imagery makes the film feel like something that came from a time long ago, and the scenes depicted make it feel like a nightmare.
The story of Begotten is one of death and rebirth. Literal, in many ways, but also allegorical. Over time viewers have interpreted Begotten in many different ways, and they’ve derived many different meanings from its unsettling images.
I could try to explain the plot to you, but it’s really something that is better to experience for the first time on your own without any preconceived notions. The first time I saw it was when someone handed me a DVD of it and just told me, “watch this, you’ll like it.” And I did.
Begotten has only had sporadic theatrical screenings over the decades since it was created, mostly at film festivals, museums, and private screenings. The film gained much of its notoriety though home video on VHS, and later on DVD. It gradually gained status as a cult film, and eventually started being appreciated more as the art film that it is.
This year, Kino Lorber will screen Begotten at the IFC Center in New York on October 1, with a national tour of the film to follow (source: Bloody Disgusting). No dates for the national tour have been released yet.
